The Past and the Present
by LilacLilyFlower
Summary: "Mirai," he finally said. "Because it means 'future'. I hope your future is full of happiness." And she never saw him again. / Rated T for language and content.
1. Prologue: Beginnings

_The Past and the Present_

By LilacLilyFlower

Disclaimer: I don't own _Boku no Hero Academia_.

-O-O-O-O-

 _Prologue: Beginnings_

-O-O-O-O-

Mirai didn't remember many things from her childhood.

Most of it was dark. Dark spots in her memory, dark corners of factories, dark cells and equipment. She had been kidnapped, she thought. She wasn't sure. She didn't remember anything before the chains, before the fear and resentment.

Except one thing.

One memory, untainted by the darkness surrounding her. One spot of light in the streams of dark.

It's a memory of what Mirai thought was her home. She must have been young, possibly two or three. There was a woman, but she can never remember what she looks like. It was too blurry. But, she knew that she had dark hair, like her. Maybe brown eyes, also like her. Probably her mother.

The room she was in in the memory was full of light. White curtains framed an open window, drifting in the breeze. Sunshine spilled into the room, which had ivory walls and gold embellishments. Were her parents rich? Possibly.

She didn't remember much else, except a soothing wave of comfort and safety. Safety that was cut off by the terrifying dark, the sudden switch from the room to the cell. The shackles that cut into her wrists and ankles, the shackles that had been all she'd known.

No ease in transition. Just the room, a blank in her memory, and shackles.

Mirai was pretty sure that she'd been kidnapped. After all, she'd been under the control of quirk traffickers, who sold her to an illegal factory that needed her quirk, which had manifested sometime during the blank in her memory. _Manipulation of light molecules_ , apparently, was the official name for her quirk. _Energy manifestation_ was what they said to sell her.

Because she could do it. She could control the energy around her. In machines, in fire, in objects at rest with potential energy. In the bonds between molecules, in the movements of the molecules themselves. Limited, of course, by one of the natural law of quirks, from using anyone's cellular energy except her own. With drawbacks, as expected, like the numbing of her nerves or lack of control over distance.

Still priceless, according to her owner.

"Hey, you," her owner had always said. "Go work on the machines for the day."

And she would. She'd draw the energy from the atmosphere, from herself, from anything around her, to power the machines enough to satisfy her owner and earn her sustenance for the day. And it definitely wasn't the ideal situation, with the shackles and threadbare clothes and the always looming threat of pain. But she bore with it because all she knew was the factory, the numbing sensation of energy passing through her hands, the loss of feeling in her nerves until she couldn't feel anything.

Until one of the other children told her otherwise.

-O-O-O-O-

"We're not allowed to talk," she'd whispered to him. She had been twelve.

"It's okay, the guard is asleep," he'd replied. She'd guessed that he was fifteen or so. A strength quirk, always assigned on manual labor.

And then he'd told her. Of the outside world. The sunlight, the air, the people. The beauty that she'd never gotten a chance to see. The dangers that lurked, but compared to being stuck in the factory, it was a pretty good chance to take, right?

She'd called him insane. "You're lying," she'd said, wary of this Outside with its Sky and Rain and Candy.

"I'm not," he'd insisted. "I was brought here when I was ten. I remember these things. Don't you remember anything?"

And she had. Deep down inside her, the memory of the white room flickered.

"What's your name?" he'd asked.

And she hadn't known. "What's a name?"

"You don't know? Wow, um. A name is… your identity, something that others call you by. Mine is Ruuto."

"Mine is You, I guess."

He'd eyed her. "That's not a name. I know, I'll give you a name." He'd thought hard, brow furrowing until there was a small crease in his forehead. She'd stared at it, still adjusting to the thought of an Outside. "Mirai," he'd finally said. "Because it means 'future'. I hope your future is full of happiness." They'd shared a hopeless laugh, because their futures were set.

And she'd never seen him again.

Her owner said that it was because he'd died in an accident with the crates. Unfortunate, because of how useful he'd been.

But Mirai knew better. It was because the Outside was real, and her owner hadn't wanted anyone to know.

So she planned. Carefully observed the guard shifts, the meal times. Scraped together and hid supplies. Secretly practiced quirk techniques at night under her blanket, until she could burn her mattress without burning herself. Because, she discovered, light was energy, but so was heat.

And then came the day. The day she'd planned to escape.

Two years. It had taken two years to plan everything, gather enough supplies for herself. She was fourteen and ready to leave. By herself, because she couldn't take anyone along. She didn't want to. Too much hassle, too much unknown.

But. At the third mealtime of the day (dinner, as Ruuto had called it), the time when she'd been planning on leaving, her owner had come for her.

At first, she'd been petrified because she thought he'd found out her plan. But soon, that fear had turned into a different kind of terror.

Because he'd brought her to a side room, and everyone knew what that meant.

Expendable. Broken. No longer needed.

So when he'd brought the gun out, she'd fought back. Kicked him in the stomach, and while he had been down and gasping for breath, used her quirk to gather the energy from the air to thrust her hand through. His. Neck.

She'd escaped, September 27th, with one kill on her hit count.

It wouldn't be her last.

-O-O-O-O-

She'd cried a lot that day.

Mirai had been hungry, lost, and terrified. Wandering the streets of what she later learned to be Japan, she'd collapsed by a bench to eat what little food she had. But before she could take a bite, a tear had fallen.

Because she didn't know enough. Ruuto hadn't told her enough. How did this new world work? What rules were here? How would she get food? Shelter? There was too much stress and tension and worry.

And no one had helped.

They'd glanced at her, a seemingly homeless girl on the side of the street, and hurried on. And she knew then that the people Outside were as cruel as the people in the factory.

But she survived, because that was what she did. For three years, she survived and adapted and learned. She knew how to read, because she'd been taught in order to learn how light worked from textbooks, so she stole all kinds of books. Cookbooks, utility books, science books. Anything and everything except for fiction. (Because make-believe didn't help with the real world.)

Learning became a survival tool for her, just as necessary as fighting, running, and flexibility. Life was tough, but she was tougher. She knew how to survive. So for three years, until she was seventeen, she did, in this society of quirks and heroes and villains.

Then, she met Shigaraki Tomura.

"You're a villain, aren't you?" she asked, hesitant to be near him when she didn't know his quirk. The hand over his face was also slightly disconcerting.

"That depends on who you ask," he replied. "Society decides who's wrong and right, even if two people do the same thing. Heroes are praised for defeating 'evildoers', but what about us villains?" Then, he presented his hand to her.

She didn't take it. "I don't know you," she said. "Or your quirk, or what you can do."

He smiled widely, insincerely. "Smart," he said. "You passed. Because if you took my hand…" He touched all five fingerpads to a tree. It shriveled and disintegrated immediately. "My name is Shigaraki Tomura. I think we could benefit each other. Our world views are certainly similar enough."

She started. He wasn't supposed to know her world views or anything else.

"How did you find out about me?" she demanded. "Why did you track me down? How does this benefit me?"

"Mirai, Mirai, Mirai," he chanted. "I used a cheat to find you. Automatic level up for me if you join me, and automatic level up for you too. You get to increase your inventory and enjoy other party benefits."

She took a step back. "This isn't a game. Why are you talking like it is?"

"Because," Shigaraki said. "Under Sensei's plan, everything is a game. And soon," he added, pressing his fingertips against each other, "it'll be game over for one side. Might be smart to join the right side, hm?"

She joined that day.

Under Sensei, Shigaraki's mentor and idol, Mirai learned more than she ever thought she could. Things about the government. Things about society. Things about light and energy and heat and— _illusions._ Ways to train her body and mind and quirk. She flourished. She thrived. Yet she never allowed herself to fully trust anyone. Not Shigaraki, not Sensei. Because her one goal was to survive.

And within four years under Sensei's tutelage (transmitted through Shigaraki), she made a name for herself in society's underworld. And she relished in it, because for once, she was the one feared, not the one fearing.

Reaper, they called her. Bringer of light and death. Recognizable from the low ponytail, the lone braid by her ear, the scythe that could cut through anything. Face unknown because of the mask over the lower half of her face. Only identifiable in her suit, which consisted of a sleeveless black turtleneck that attached to the mask and grey pants with a multitude of pockets that contained other miscellaneous, deadly tools. A belt that held more tools. Generic clothes, even when suited up. So be careful, they said. Who knows what she could look like outside of her suit?

Even the heroes didn't know. They'd never even heard of her.

But they would.

Soon.

-O-O-O-O-

A/N: Hey guys!

It's probably not a good idea to start ANOTHER story when I have three unfinished ones and about five more sitting on the backburner, but you know what? This fandom is too wonderful, this universe is too amazing, and Bakugou is a horrible, punk-ass jerk that I love to death. Well, all of the characters, really.

And it's summer, so hopefully I'll have more time to work on stories?

See you later!


	2. Chapter 1: Falsehoods

_The Past and the Present_

By LilacLilyFlower

Disclaimer: I don't own _Boku no Hero Academia_.

-O-O-O-O-

 _Chapter 1: Falsehoods_

-O-O-O-O-

"Mirai."

She turned on the barstool. "Shigaraki," she said.

"To-mu-ra," he emphasized, sliding onto a seat next to her. Behind the bar, Kurogiri rolled his eyes. She narrowed hers at him.

"Shigaraki," she said again. "What do you need me for this time?"

He slammed his hand down on the bar (but, she noticed, kept one finger up to prevent breakage). "Why do you always assume that I talk to you only when you're needed?" he raged.

She blinked, accustomed to his random displays of instability and anger. "Because," she said. "It's always like that."

"That's true," he said, suddenly calm again. "Sensei wants you to do some surveillance."

"On?"

"The U.A. Academy entrance exams."

She froze for a millisecond before relaxing. "You're not joking, are you?"

"I am." She eyed him. He laughed, a stilted, forced sound. "Just kidding, I'm not joking. Sensei wouldn't assign you this if he thought you couldn't do it. And remember—"

"Sensei knows all, I know," she huffed. Closing her eyes and tilting her head back, she felt as Shigaraki ran a hand through her hair. He'd always been a bit captivated by her hair. And, she suspected, this was his way of reaffirming her trust in him, due to the nature of his quirk.

Too bad she was faking it.

"I'll do it," she decided. "But it's U.A. Their security is crazy. What does Sensei want me to find out?" She gathered some energy to her fingertip and burned patterns into the bar. Kurogiri slapped her hand away.

"Not the bartop," he said. She just stared and flicked her eyes to the multiple scratches and knife marks. He shook his head. She gave up and turned to Shigaraki.

"Shigaraki? What does Sensei want me to find out?"

His hand tightened around a lock of her hair. He pulled, gradually applying more force. A warning. Towards what, she didn't know, but she kept her posture relaxed.

"We got information that All Might is going to teach at U.A. now." And suddenly, the hair-pulling made sense. "So scope out the first-year candidates and see which one he might invest any sort of interest in, because anyone taught by All Might is bound to be strong."

And potentially helpful.

"I understand," Mirai said. "And I also get that you hate All Might, but you need to stop pulling on my hair before you rip it out of my head."

He released her hair after a pause. "Civilian clothes, in case you get caught."

"As if," she shot back, forcing her voice to remain steady. "I'll be back as soon as possible."

She stood up, shifting the light around herself until she was invisible. It was easy, something ingrained in her over years of training until it barely required a second thought. Things like controlling energy from a distance, however, still gave her trouble, which in turn dissatisfied Shigaraki.

She snorted. It wasn't he could say anything when his own training wasn't going well.

She headed out, walking towards her apartment. When a herd of civilians neared, she pulled a nanotechnology jacket out of a pocket to slip on. A rudimentary disguise, but most people missed things when they weren't looking specifically for them. Then, she lowered the illusion and entered the convenience store by her apartment complex.

"Oh, it's Mina," the clerk said. "How are you? Is university going fine?"

"Hello, Watari," she replied. "I'm doing well. University's great; thanks for asking." Mirai grabbed a tea blend that she hated and brought it to the register. After all, her cover, Uzusara Mina, adored it. Watari checked it out, and with a cheerful goodbye, she was on her way to her building.

It was strange, how she had a cover while Shigaraki didn't. Maybe Sensei was taking preventative measures with her, because he definitely didn't trust her yet if he was using Shigaraki as a middleman to give her missions. Or was it just that she knew how to function in society?

Whatever it was didn't matter much. Her cover was a job, and like any other job, Mirai would succeed. Simple.

She reached her apartment and entered, taking care to close the door carefully because it jammed. She strode to her closet and rifled through its contents before surfacing with a hoodie, jacket, and jeans. Quickly, she changed, layering the jacket on top of the hoodie and hiding her scythe, which was collapsible, between the sleeves. Then, Mirai reconsidered and took it out, because U.A. was bound to have weapons detectors.

As she remade the illusion and walked to U.A., she ran over what she knew of its defensive architecture. It had a gate that automatically closed when someone that didn't have the right ID neared. The walls were several meters high with sensors for just about everything.

There was no other choice. She'd have to steal an ID card, even though there was bound to be some kind of sensor for when an ID card passes into the premises as well.

The first-year candidates would receive special cards for the day in order to access the campus for the entrance exams. If she could just steal one off of a kid or from the office they were being handed out, she'd be in the clear.

Mirai came upon the front gates of U.A. A few feet in front, potential students were being corralled into lines in front of a fortified booth that was giving out IDs. She swiped one from the pocket of a boy with antennae and joined a group of students in walking through.

 _Infiltration success._

She contemplated throwing it back to the kid with antennae, but decided not to. After all, she didn't know if she would need it again.

Mirai sidestepped various U.A. hopefuls, identifying whatever quirks she could. Someone with a tail. Alright. A girl with a gravity quirk. Useful. A kid with engines in his legs. Iida family?

She lingered in a corner of the courtyard, wondering what to do next. There would definitely be a room with video monitors of the practical exam, but the people watching would most likely be the pro heroes that taught at U.A. Her best shot would be to enter the course itself.

So when the time came, she silently joined a group of candidates in front of the course doors. "What's your quirk?" one of the candidates asked another.

Well. Convenient.

"Frog," a girl replied. "What's yours?"

"I can fly," the first candidate said. "So whatever the test is, I'll ace it!"

A sizzling sound drew Mirai's attention. A boy stood near the front, shoulders rigid. His hands sparked, then—ignited.

 _Jackpot._

"Shut up," the boy growled. "You fuckers just need to stay out of my way." The bell sounded, the doors opened, and the boy burst from his spot, propelling himself with explosions. "DIE!" he roared.

Mirai blinked. Considered. Analyzed what she saw. And decided on a course of action.

She left the academy, heading back to the bar. As she entered, she unshielded the invisibility and Shigaraki stood up from the counter. "Already? The test is already over? Are this year's candidates that bad or good?" he asked in that drawling, rambling way of his.

"I found one," she replied, waving down Kurogiri. Kurogiri slid a pad of paper and a pen to her. "Someone we can use." She sketched the explosion kid, labeling him as 'volatile' and 'arrogant'. "He seems to have less morals and qualms. Quirk is explosions. He's pretty good at them too, judging by his midair maneuvering."

She looked up, frowning. _Sensei should know all this. Maybe this was a test? Or a part of a bigger plan?_

"I'm certain that he's going to pass the entrance exam," she continued, jotting down an estimate of his statistics from the short demonstration she saw. "And if we manage to lure him over, it'll be a huge blow to U.A., not only because he's one of their students but also because it shows that they failed."

"The only problem is," she said, adding 'quirk: explosion' under the sketch of his face, "that I'm not sure what approach to take to win him over. Or what his name is."

"U.A.'s Sports Festival," Shigaraki mused. "Open to the public. We can find out there."

"Or," Kurogiri interjected, "we can focus on killing All Might."

Killing All Might. As if that would be something simple to do. Even with the development of Noumu, Mirai wasn't confident. In fact, if she'd known that this was one of the goals of Sensei, she wouldn't have joined.

But it was too late now.

"If we take this child," she said, "then All Might, who is going to be a teacher of this child, will most likely come after him. But. We should see what opportunities there are. Leave our options open. It's just one step in a long plan."

Shigaraki slowly lowered himself back down onto his barstool. "What's the next step then?" he rasped, looking at her. She looked back at him.

"You're our leader, Shigaraki," she said.

"To-mu-ra," he sounded out in that sing-song way of his. Kurogiri rolled his eyes again, used to this routine.

"Shigaraki," she repeated firmly.

He sighed melodramatically. "If you insist, then by all means, keep calling me by my last name." His demeanor shifted into something sinister. "But first, let's have fun with our friends, the media."

"Not today, of course," Kurogiri said. "We should give U.A. a chance to settle, fall into a routine. Plus, they need to decide on students."

"Of course," Shigaraki allowed graciously. "And Mirai, Sensei wants to speak with you."

Her blood froze. "I see," she managed to say after clearing her throat. "Now, I presume."

"Yes."

She walked stiffly to the back room where the computer monitor was set up with a webcam. On the screen, she could see a shadowed figure sitting at a desk. "Sensei." She bowed.

" _Mirai. It's good to speak to you face to face_ ," he said. His voice was strangely smooth and monotonous. She shuddered, but stayed still.

"It's an honor to speak to you as well," she replied, desperately wishing for her mask to hide at least _some_ part of her face.

 _"_ _As I understand it, you've been very helpful lately_ ," he intoned. On screen, the shadowed figure shifted. " _Congratulations on managing to infiltrate U.A. I reasoned that if you followed my orders to do even that, you're clearly trustworthy enough for some direct intel from me. Which, of course, you won't tell anyone. Not even Tomura."_

"Of course," she echoed. She hesitated, which he noticed.

" _Go on._ "

"I was wondering," she ventured cautiously, "why you keep me around when you can easily take my quirk." She knew, of course, of Sensei's ability to steal and grant quirks. It was one of the first things that Shigaraki had told her about.

The figure onscreen stilled. After a horribly long silence, he spoke. " _You're skilled at using it,"_ he finally said. _"Far more skilled than Tomura could ever become with it. Furthermore, you're good for him. Tomura, that is. You make him think. What I need right now is for him to think on his own and gradually become more independent of me. My time left with you all is short._ "

His voice took on a strangely, almost vulnerable and wistful tone. Mirai startled. What she'd been expecting from this meeting had _not_ been something like this. " _You need to stay with him, Mirai. Do as he wants. Within reason, naturally. Guide him in my stead."_

Her instinctive reaction was repulsion. But this was Sensei, and she was playing a very dangerous game.

 _"_ _And if I'm being completely honest, I already have a quirk similar to yours in my collection. However, something else concerns me. I know you don't trust us."_

She stopped breathing.

 _"_ _And really,"_ he continued, " _I can't blame you after your years in that factory, but you do know the consequences of betrayal, I hope._ " A warning. He was warning her to do everything that Shigaraki wanted, not just things within reason.

"I understand, Sensei," she said weakly. She didn't even try to conceal her reaction.

 _"_ _I'm glad you do. Now, about that direct intel I was talking about. I think it's about time to bring you into the fold._ "

And he told her.

Afterwards, she returned to the front, sitting down at the bar with robotic motions and running over everything in her mind. _The plan. He told me the entire plan. It's too much, how can I remember all—_

"Extraordinary, isn't it," Shigaraki nearly crooned. "Being the focus of his attention. Someone that amazing, that awesome, paying attention to you."

 _No,_ she wanted to say. _It's terrifying._

"Yes," she said instead. "I've never experienced anything like it." _Guide him in my stead_ , Sensei had said. And now she could. Because she knew his entire fucking plan, down to the last detail about All Might's weaknesses and U.A.'s meal menu.

 _What if a mindreading quirk—_

She felt something in her mind clamp down. It felt like a wall, surrounding everything that she'd just learned. Then another wall surrounded her mind in general. _What is—what's happening?_

And a voice spoke. Sensei's.

 _A simple precaution against mindreading quirks,_ the voice said. _I implemented several barriers in your conscious and subconscious. No worries, I can't access your thoughts unless you share them directly with me._ The voice subsided, and its presence left.

But the fear didn't.

Because maybe he couldn't access her thoughts, but that didn't change the fact that he'd been in her _mind_. And maybe he was lying. Maybe he could. She had to take some preventative measures of some kind. He did something to her mind. Some kind of wall to block others. He changed something, put something where it didn't belong. What else had he done? What if he put a switch or trigger in?

A hand grasped the side of her face. Shigaraki's. She felt his nails dig in. She felt a scratch form on her cheek. She felt the coldness of his hand. "Mirai," he said. "Were you not listening?"

She hesitated. Because she was terrified, because she was overwhelmed, and frankly, him holding her face with four of his fingers and needing just one more finger to disintegrate her wasn't doing the best for her nerves. _Do as he wants_ , she remembered. _Survive. SURVIVE._

So she relaxed, and leaned the slightest bit into his hand. His eyes widened, but she closed hers and calmed her heartbeat. _Survive. Survive. Survive._

"Sorry," she said. The hand eased off. Not gently, but not deliberately painful.

"Listen next time," he whispered. Across from them, Kurogiri observed silently. She opened her eyes and nodded, checking Shigaraki's reaction. Surprise. Uncertainty. A hint of triumph.

"I was thinking that we leak news of All Might's"—he spat the name out with hatred—"teaching status. Then, when the press is clamoring at U.A. for information, we break down the gate, allowing them to flood the campus. We use that distraction to find All Might's teaching schedule and any other intelligence, and choose our next step from there."

 _Exactly like Sensei predicted he'd think._

"I'm assuming I'm going in order to make us invisible," she said.

Shigaraki nodded. "Kurogiri stays. We don't need warping for this one." He grinned, baring his teeth behind the ever-present hand on his face. "Two days," he said.

"The fall of society begins in two days."

-O-O-O-O-

The next day, she went to the public library.

"Mental barriers," she muttered to herself. "Mindreading." All libraries had a variety of texts on quirks and ways to potentially defend oneself against them. Civilian stuff, of course. But still helpful, nonetheless.

It was really all she had. Her only other option was a professional, and she wasn't risking a paper trail for her cover. Or she could ask someone else with a relevant quirk, but she didn't know anyone like that, and her own quirk was useless for this.

She skimmed her hand down a row of books. "Magnetism, magnetokinetic regeneration…" She caught sight of a category and stopped. "…medidation."

As soon as her hand touched a book in that category, the back of her neck prickled, the way it always did when someone was watching her. She picked up the book and moved past several aisles, gradually nearing the front desk.

Her neck still prickled.

Checking the book out was simple enough, but as she left the library, she glanced behind herself surreptitiously. No one.

The entire way to her apartment, she couldn't shake the feeling of being watched until she was inside. Immediately, she pulled the deadlock on her door into place, even though it couldn't stop many quirks. The windows were all locked, she knew. Was she being stalked?

But she'd know if she were, because while she couldn't use others' cellular energy, she could sense it. And she _knew_ she wasn't being overly paranoid. Four years of training beat paranoia out of her to replace with carefully honed reflexes.

So with that thought, she sat down and opened the book.

-O-O-O-O-

One day later, they tipped off the press.

"They'll swarm the academy tomorrow, probably," she commented, reading a newspaper with a headline announcing All Might's new teaching position. She and Shigaraki were outside, in civilian garb and seated on a bench. "The reporters, I mean."

"It's annoying how popular All Might is. I wonder what would happen if the Symbol of Peace were to be snuffed out by villains," he grumbled darkly. "We'll go tomorrow to U.A."

She made a noncommittal sound of agreement and crossed her leg so that her knee barely touched his. He stilled, and she kept reading the paper with her usual neutral face.

Mirai could feel it. He was assessing her, unsure and confused of this new development. Well, good. She was making him think. Throughout their interactions, she'd always been impartial. Never encouraging or rejecting. She knew it was something unknown to him, so she was going to take advantage of it as much as possible. Anything to survive.

Although, she wasn't sure if he had the capacity to understand the signals.

She stood up, folding the paper. "Let's go. Kurogiri is probably worried by now. Since we left to deliver a note instead of leaving an anonymous tip over the phone."

"Phones can be traced," Shigaraki said. "A typed note is better, especially considering how easy it is for us to be undetectable."

They continued to walk in silence. When she glanced over at him, she saw that he was watching her intently, so she blinked once and looked away. Maybe this hadn't been a good idea after all.

 _Do as he wants._

Something grabbed her wrist, pulling her to a stop. She wrenched away, jumping back and automatically drawing energy to her hands. Then, she realized. "Oh. Sorry."

Shigaraki lowered his hand and didn't acknowledge her apology. "Why?" he asked. "Why?"

She knew what he meant. "Why what?"

He narrowed his eyes at her and stepped closer, looming. "This _,_ " he hissed, seizing her hand. " _This,_ " he said, pressing it against his own cheek. " _Why._ "

 _Careful, Mirai. You're treading on dangerous ground_ , she thought.

She met his eyes levelly. "I think it should be fairly clear why." She turned around. "We need to tell Kurogiri that we succeeded. Let's go back to the bar." The sound of his footsteps started a few moments after hers.

"It's in the newpapers," Shigaraki said. "Which means the stupid media has the story too. He probably saw on television."

"Regardless," Mirai said, walking swiftly. "I thought of a change in our plan for tomorrow. So we need to go over it with him." He didn't argue or rage, so she took it as acquiescence.

They arrived at the bar. "Kurogiri," she called. "Kurogiri, there's a change in plans tomorrow."

Kurogiri looked up from where he was reading a book. "Sorry, what?"

Mirai rolled her eyes. "You need to improve your situational awareness," she said as Shigaraki lowered himself with a thump onto his usual barstool. "You're coming with us tomorrow. Because when I infiltrated U.A., there weren't any sensors within the buildings except for security cameras, and I can shield us from those. So as soon as Shigaraki breaks the barrier, you can warp in to find whatever files we need."

She began to put her hair into its ponytail. Kurogiri watched. "Going to work?"

Mirai quirked a humorless smile. "We all need money," she replied. "I'll be back."

"Don't kill anyone," Kurogiri called after her. She didn't acknowledge him or Shigaraki, who was staring down at the bar counter silently, and left, taking off her jacket and hoodie to reveal her black turtleneck. She pulled the mask up to cover her lower face.

And the Reaper reaped.

-O-O-O-O-

Breaking in to U.A. again wasn't as difficult as it should have been.

It was actually a little too easy. Mirai made Shigaraki, Kurogiri, and herself invisible, and Kurogiri warped them to the front of the crowd of reporters. Shigaraki touched the barrier, the barrier disintegrated, and they were in.

"Administration is over there," she said, pointing in a general direction. "But first-year classes are held over there in that building," she said, indicating somewhere else, "and the teachers' lounges are more likely to have the information we want."

"Split up," Shigaraki commanded. "Kurogiri, with me. Mirai, watch how they react to the security breach." They disappeared via warp.

She sat down on the ground, keeping an eye on the broken barrier, and gathered the energy from the slight breeze in the air. Food was nice, and good for things like replenishing her amino acids and necessary vitamin quantities, but for energy, taking it from the atmosphere was purer. The amount of energy in the universe was forever constant. But consumption lost ninety percent of energy as heat, which escaped to the atmosphere. It was just more…efficient to take it.

Because as far as she was concerned, the more energy there was for her, the better.

Mirai perked up as she heard voices approach. She turned and froze.

Because heading straight towards her were some of the most famous heroes.

Midnight. Thirteen. Recovery Girl. And some kind of animal? Was it a rat? A very small bear? Whatever it was, it looked very intelligent. It was even wearing a suit? _Oh_ , Mirai realized. _It's the principal. From the news sometimes. Nedzu, I think?_

"Principal," Midnight said. "A reporter couldn't have done this."

"It's possible that one of them had a quirk of such destructive capabilities," Nedzu replied. "However, I don't think that's the case." His head turned directly towards Mirai.

Mirai leapt up, using the energy she'd just gathered to vault over the group of U.A. faculty. She landed outside of the barrier and ran until she couldn't see the academy anymore, keeping herself shielded with invisibility.

Stupid. She'd been stupid. Invisibility only affected sight, not other senses. And Nedzu, an animal, had superior senses to most humans that didn't have sense quirks. Sad, how four years of training culminated into a careless mistake.

 _Scent. Can he track my scent?_ she thought, whisking through various plans. _No,_ she decided. _I have an anti-scent device._ Maybe it had just been the sixth sense.

A hole of black mist appeared in front of her, spiraling until it revealed Kurogiri and Shigaraki. "You left your post," Shigaraki said. "Parties take a hit if a party member doesn't do their job. Explain." He and Kurogiri stepped through the warp gate. Mirai knew they'd memorized the information they needed, so she didn't mention the lack of files in their hands.

"I was detected," she said shamelessly. "But not to the extent that they could identify me. They did, however, determine that the barrier breach wasn't the work of a reporter."

"It is jot much of a loss to us," Kurogiri decided. "Not with the information we got. On Wednesday at 12:50 PM, Class 1-A will head towards the Unforeseen Simulation Joint to receive rescue training. All Might and Thirteen will be the instructors present."

"A freshman class," Mirai said, confirming the information she'd just heard. "A hindrance and burden to the teachers, if they were to be attacked."

"Noumu is ready," Shigaraki interjected, scratching his neck. She eyed where he scratched. It was raw and scabbing. Then, he stopped scratching. "We can kill All Might." A deranged grin slowly grew on his face. " _We can kill All Might._ "

"Finally," Kurogiri agreed. "We will rid the world of the Symbol of Peace."

Mirai didn't say anything, except, "Let's go back to headquarters and alert the forces."

They warped back to the bar.

Kurogiri set to contacting their small army of mercenary-esque villains, but Mirai mused over the wisdom of killing All Might. It certainly was a big factor of Sensei's plan, and All Might _did_ put away quite a few villains, but All Might was… pure. He rescued people for the sake of their lives. Their futures.

Future. Mirai.

She shook her head. She was already committed to the plan. To being a villain. To her villain identity. Searching under the bar counter, she lugged out a first aid kit.

"Shigaraki," she called, jumping over the bar. "Come here."

She applied alcohol to a cotton swab, waiting until he was seated at the bar. "Tilt your face up." He stared at her balefully for a few seconds, but did as she said.

His scratching bothered her. Something about it reminded her of bad habits, helpless mental ticks. So she was really killing two birds with one stone with this.

Mirai cleaned out his self-inflicted wounds, unflinching when he hissed in pain. She pat his neck until the blood stopped oozing and bandaged it. "Don't scratch. It'll get infected." Then, she very gingerly took his hand and began cleaning the blood off of his fingertips.

His other hand wrapped around her wrist in a bruising grip, with the exception of his pointer finger, which he lifted. "I could turn you into dust right now," he said conversationally. (As conversational as he could be.) "If I just brought my last finger down." He dropped his pointer finger threateningly close to her wrist.

Mirai stilled her actions. "I'm aware," she said. "But you can turn a lot of things into dust that you don't."

He scoffed. "Are you saying that I'm—" he sneered— "merciful?"

"No," she refuted. "I'm just stating how it is. Sometimes you destroy things. Sometimes you don't." From the corner of her eye, she noticed that Kurogiri's movements had stopped, and that he was angled slightly towards them.

Shigaraki released her wrist. She wiped the last of the dried blood from his fingers, and he tugged his hands out of her grasp to pace to the back room, presumably to talk to Sensei.

Mirai stared down at her wrist.

Four bruises blossomed.

-O-O-O-O-

A/N: Yay, an update within three days!

I guess I kinda threw everyone into the action right away, haha. Although, to be fair, the manga/anime is like that too. I mean, they have the quirk testing, the mock hero teams vs. villain teams training, and the USJ within like the first school week. According to the wiki, at least.

And it's super hard to capture Shigaraki's character in writing? Like, a lot of his character relies on visual and aural cues given in the manga and anime, and I can't say "he rasped" every single time, can I? Argh, Shigaraki, get your shit together man.

And Kurogiri is actually a gentleman, apparently. Weird warpy misty dude dresses nicely and is polite, even to his victims.

Add Mirai to that mix, and they're an odd trio, aren't they? Because Shigaraki is definitely not friends with either Kurogiri and Mirai, but Kurogiri and Mirai get along, but they also defer to Shigaraki, and plus this new thing Mirai is trying out…well. It'll be fun later.

See you next time!


	3. Chapter 2: Instigation

_The Past and the Present_

By LilacLilyFlower

Disclaimer: I don't own _Boku no Hero Academia_.

-O-O-O-O-

 _Chapter 2: Instigation_

-O-O-O-O-

 **NOTE: I decided to go with "Kurogiri" instead of "Black Mist", because in the anime, they say "Kurogiri". Just like they call All Might "All Might" instead of some translation that means "all the power", if it was "Black Mist", I'm sure they would've said as such, like "Blacku Mistu".**

-O-O-O-O-

The Unforeseen Simulation Joint. A large dome encompassing several arenas for disaster zones, with realistic effects and dangers. Used to train heroes and U.A. students. Almost a rite of passage.

And they were going to ambush it.

"The League of Villains is larger than I expected," Mirai murmured to Kurogiri. They were standing on the rooftop of a skyscraper, dressed in their villain gear and waiting for the army's full arrival. Those who had already arrived were spread on the rooftops of nearby buildings.

"I suspect many of them owe favors to Sensei," Kurogiri speculated. "That, or they were attracted to Shigaraki's particular brand of evil."

"Simple, you mean?" Mirai asked with a humorous quirk of her eyebrow. "Childlike? Selfish?"

He cleared his throat. "Well, there's no need for me to say anything else, because you already covered the characteristics," he said. Then, the atmosphere turned more somber. He gestured to her wrist, the bruises. "Are you sure that it's an intelligent idea to pursue that path?" he asked.

Mirai's smirk dropped. "You're a good man, Kurogiri," she said. "It's strange that you're a villain, yet here we are." Then, she ran her thumb over her bruises. "This thing with Shigaraki…it's worth it," she decided. To him, it probably sounded like the pinings of a foolish girl. But she knew better.

 _It has to be worth it. It will be._

Because it would pay off eventually. When she had more influence, more control over him, it would pay off.

"Besides, you're the one tasked with tearing All Might apart," she added. "Worry over yourself."

She tugged her mask over her lower face and ran through a mental checklist of her tools. She'd prepared them the day before, restocking on various items and recharging on energy, although there was _always_ energy.

Shigaraki ambled over. "Noumu is ready," he said, voice taking on the sadistic glee of a child disassembling an insect. "It's time. Kurogiri."

Kurogiri nodded, and a warp gate grew before their eyes. He turned to call the villain masses, but Mirai was focused on the pinpoint of light within the warp that was growing. The USJ. The freshman class. All Might. They were all beyond that prick of light.

"Mirai," Shigaraki rasped, trembling with excitement. "Invisibility. Now." She nodded and created the illusion. He stepped into the warp, reaching his hand through the growing point of light.

And then they were there.

The USJ spread around them, wide and expansive. Mirai scoped her surroundings, noting structures and terrain. Then, she looked at the group of students huddled uphill from them, near the entrance. She blinked.

"All Might isn't here," she breathed, the voice distorter in the cloth of her mask changing her whisper.

Kurogiri surged up. "Eraserhead and Thirteen… according to the curriculum we procured yesterday, All Might was supposed to be here."

Eraserhead glared at them and shifted his goggles over his eyes. Mirai ducked behind Kurogiri. "Kurogiri," she said in a quiet voice to avoid detection. "Do you suppose my quirk can be cancelled if Eraserhead can't see me?"

"Err on the side of caution," he replied. "Stay hidden." Then, he spread his warp mist out, rising to a new height.

"I wonder," Shigaraki said with a sibilant cackle. "Will All Might show up if we kill the kids?"

And Eraserhead leapt down at them. "Thirteen! Protect the students!"

"That's too bad," Kurogiri murmured as he began to fade away. "For it will be too late when I reach them."

Mirai shook her head. Poor kids, but she really didn't care. She hurled an energy bolt at Eraserhead, who was making short work of the first horde of villains that had rushed him. He dodged and look around, but she was already running to another direction.

"Reaper. Stop. Stay by me," Shigaraki ordered. She sidled up to him, coughing to let him know she was there. "You're our trump card," he said. "Our element of surprise."

"I think Noumu takes care of that," she muttered, side-eyeing the experimental organism that was standing rather stupidly by them. Mirai looked up as an explosion sounded and parts of their small army began disappearing in warps. "Kurogiri scattered the students. I think the explosion was from the student I mentioned before."

"That won't help us against Eraserhead," Shigaraki said. "He has commendable hand-to-hand combat skills. We can't be sure of whose quirks he temporarily erased, because of his goggles. That's why that group of our alliance is having trouble against him right now."

He reached up to his neck. "God, pro heroes are such a pain. If we'd been just any group of villains, we wouldn't stand a chance."

"Shigaraki," Mirai said quietly. "Don't scratch."

He paused, then lowered his hand. Then, he grinned from underneath the hand on his face. "I found it," he mumbled. Then, louder, "I found his weakness."

Mirai looked back over the ensuing conflict between Eraserhead and their thugs. Because, really, they were thugs. "He's losing stamina," she said, gauging his energy levels. Then, she saw the state of the thugs. "But we're still losing."

"Look carefully," Shigaraki said. "He's slowly being overwhelmed."

"That doesn't change the fact that we're still losing." She began to have doubts in their ability to kill All Might.

He rolled his shoulder and flexed his hands. "I suppose," he said, voice growing louder with mounting excitement, "it's time for me to step in then. Noumu."

Noumu showed signs of life for the first time, turning its head towards Shigaraki. Mirai regarded it apathetically, blinking once. "Watch for a sign, Noumu." It merely stared at him.

But she remembered its raw strength, its role in All Might's capture. And her doubts disappeared.

Shigaraki lunged into the fray, right at Eraserhead. The thugs scattered, knowing better than to stay near Shigaraki and his hands. "Aizawa Shouta," he said, grabbing at Eraserhead's face. He missed. "Age thirty. Homeroom teacher of Class 1-A. Quirk: Erasure. Twenty-four."

"Did your research, didn't you?" Eraserhead—Aizawa asked. He leapt back, snapping his scarf around and snagging Shigaraki's ankle and pulling. "You the crowd favorite?"

Shigaraki stumbled forwards, leaving his stomach open. "Twenty," he said before Aizawa punched him in the stomach. Mirai made a move forward, but stopped as she saw Shigaraki grab Aizawa's elbow. "Seventeen," he said, leaning close. "We keep jumping around so it's hard to tell," he said, "but there are moments when your hair falls over your eyes."

His grip tightened. Mirai watched as Aizawa's sleeve, skin, then flesh began to dust away. The distinctive sound of bone cracking split the air. "It happens when you complete an action," Shigaraki positively laughed. "And the time interval…it keeps getting shorter and shorter."

His elbow joint began to crumble. "Don't bite off more than you can chew, Eraserhead," Shigaraki said, all traces of humor disappearing from his voice. Aizawa swung his other fist at him, pushing him away and down to the ground. Shigaraki hit the ground with a thud.

Mirai made her move. She raced over to the thugs and hissed, "Kill him!" They converged on Aizawa, drawing him away from Shigaraki, which was her original goal, but Aizawa still. Beat. Them. Down.

Shigaraki pushed himself up. "That quirk of yours… isn't it unsuited for fighting masses for long periods?" He shook his head, stretching his arms in front of him. "Isn't this far removed from your typical work?" His feet shifted, distributing his balance more evenly. "Isn't your specialty short-length sneak attacks? Did you attack just to give your students some measure of peace of mind? You're so cool!"

Then, he linked his fingers together, looking at Noumu and jerking his head at Aizawa. "But one thing, hero. I'm not the crowd favorite."

Noumu loomed.

Mirai watched dispassionately as Noumu broke Aizawa's limbs like a twig. She kept a stone face as Shigaraki gloated, "Tell All Might that he's wanted by artificial human Noumu." She tightened her ponytail as Noumu smashed Aizawa's face into the ground, repeatedly.

But she whirled around, still invisible, when she sensed the energy of three, small humans. She glanced at the water and saw three U.A. first-years, watching their teacher's curbstomping with wide, shaken eyes.

"Midoriya," the shortest one whispered, panicked and looking at the other boy. "Midoriya, you're having second thoughts now, right?"

"Ribbit," the girl in between the boys said, sinking down into the water until only her eyes were visible. Mirai remembered her. The one with the frog quirk from the entrance exams.

And the third boy, the one staring at Aizawa with stricken yet determined eyes. Plain looking. Unassuming. Midoriya, she assumed. All three were alive, which meant they beat the group in the League with water-based quirks, and the other two students were looking to him as their leader.

She took a step towards them. And another. She reached for her scythe. The frog girl shifted, eyes darting about, clearly sensing something wrong. It didn't matter to Mirai. Mirai always completed her objective, and her objective was to clear all potential obstacles for Shigaraki.

But she never got to decide whether the kids were obstacles or not, because Kurogiri's voice rang out. "Shigaraki. Thirteen is incapacitated," he said, his mist settling around him. "However, one of the students was able to escape."

Mirai froze. Then very slowly, she lowered her hand and turned to look at Shigaraki.

"Huh?" Shigaraki stood still. "What?" His hand reached up to his neck. But when his fingers touched the bandages that Mirai had wrapped, he stopped, putting his hand down. He began to crack his knuckles continuously instead. "Kurogiri, what?"

The pointer finger. _Crack._ "Kurogiri, if you can't be a proper warp gate…" The third finger. _Pop._ "If you can't, then our plans have crumbled." The ring finger. _Crrk._ "They'll send dozens of pros after us. We can't win." The pinky. _Pkrk._

"It's game over, game over. Game over… _for now_." He ran a hand through his hair. "Shall we _hop_ back?" He glanced behind himself surreptitiously at the students.

Mirai backed away from the students. They were whispering furiously to each other. She shook her head. They had no idea what was in store for them.

"Before we head back, though," Shigaraki said, halting Kurogiri and Noumu, "why don't we use this opportunity to take the Symbol of Peace's pride down a notch?"

And he was suddenly there, right in front of the children. His hand shot forth, grasping the girl's face, and—

Nothing happened.

Mirai chanced a glance at Aizawa. Her suspicions were correct. He was erasing Shigaraki's quirk.

Noumu smashed Aizawa's head down again, cancelling the erasure. "No," the boy, Midoriya, whispered. "No, no, no no no no nonono!"

A surge of energy in his arm alarmed her. It was too sudden. Too much at once, out of nowhere. But she didn't move, because it was no match for Noumu.

And sure enough, Noumu took the blow meant for Shigaraki. "Nice punch there," Shigaraki sneered. "You called it a smash. Are you a follower of All Might? Well, whatever, kid." He moved forward, reaching out for both the girl and the smaller boy, while Noumu grabbed Midoriya's arm.

And then Mirai felt it.

A well of energy so wide, so deep, approaching the USJ at top speed.

It could only be one person.

The doors crashed in, raising dust and shaking the ground in the Central Plaza that Mirai stood in. The overhead lights glinted off of a flash of blond, a shine of red and blue.

All Might.

"Looks like," Shigaraki said, pausing in his movements, "we get a continue."

All Might reached up and ripped off his tie. "Have no fear, my students," he boomed. "For I am here!"

Anxiety began to pool in Mirai's stomach. It was, after all, All Might. He was strength. Mettle. Power. A symbol that rose up during the Golden Age of Heroes and carried himself strongly into the next generation. Selfless, courageous, the definition of a hero.

Mirai detested him. Not to the extent that Shigaraki did, but she still hated him enough to want to kill him.

"We were waiting for you, hero scum," Shigaraki spat. "Don't you have manners? You showed up so late."

All Might didn't reply and pushed off from the ground. In a blink, he downed the remaining thugs and collected Aizawa. In another blink, he had the children safe in his arms. And Shigaraki, pushed, was on the ground.

Barefaced.

Mirai rushed forward but halted. _This is bad_ , she thought. _This is very bad._ But she couldn't _do_ anything, because she was supposed to stay quiet and invisible and undetectable.

"Father," Shigaraki gasped, stumbling as he got onto his feet and staggered towards the fallen hand. "Father, I'm sorry!" He picked up the hand gingerly, handling it with care and delicacy that Mirai had never seen until now, and placed it over his face. "He hit you while he was saving them, he was too fast for my eyes to follow. But. He," he laughed, grinning maliciously, "he wasn't as fast as I expected. It's true then, isn't it? Our intel was right. About how he's _weakening_."

"All Might, stay back!" the boy—Midoriya—shouted, desperation in his eyes. "That villain with the brain matter, he wasn't affected by One Fo—"

Mirai's interest was piqued. One For All. He'd been about to say One For All. That meant… he was the successor. The one wild card in all of Sensei's plans.

"I mean," Midoriya continued, stuttering, "I mean, when I punched him, he didn't budge! At all! He—"

All Might cut him off, grinning confidently. "Midoriya, my boy," he said. "Have no fear." He lunged at Shigaraki.

"Noumu."

"Carolina Smash!"

Noumu didn't budge. "I can't believe it!" All Might exclaimed. "None of my blows work!"

"That's because he has a Shock Absorption ability," Shigaraki sneered, watching as All Might punched. And punched. And punched. "It would be more effective if you tore him apart, limb by limb."

All Might grinned. "Thanks for telling me! If that's all it takes, it'll be a cinch!" He grabbed Noumu around the chest and _heaved_ , throwing his weight backwards.

Mirai _moved_.

She reached out, felt, grasped the energy of his movements, and pulled. The energy settled in her veins, buzzing, raging for a way to get out. She fell to her knees, gasping as her limbs jerked. The resulting explosion from All Might's backdrop slam faded to a dull thud as her blood pounded in her ears. All she was aware of was the roar of her heartbeat, the sting of sweat in her eyes. The coolness of dirt beneath her fingers, crushed into clumps as she fisted her hands. The metallic scent and taste of blood as she coughed.

And the energy, shrieking and biting, rearing its head and tearing into her with claws.

"Mirai," Shigaraki muttered. His voice was sharp with alarm. " _Mirai_." He stretched a hand out, searching for her through the invisibility.

She paid no attention to him, struggling to soundlessly harness the wildness inside her. _Movement,_ it howled, assailing her mind with images and dizzying feelings of the swiftness of the wind and the current of the oceans. _I was meant for movement!_

She stopped moving, fluttering her eyes shut and falling limp against the cool, cool ground, denying the energy the movement it wanted. "No," she whispered to it. _No. You're mine now. Mine to command._

It tore at her, relentless, climbing. But she remained steadfast, yanking it back down, pulling, molding, pushing it into her cells.

She opened her eyes.

"I'm fine," she rasped. "Kinetic energy is just a bitch to handle." Especially his. Especially All Might's. _How,_ she thought. _How does he have that much?_ Strength hummed in her veins, in her blood. Mirai could feel it dancing around her hand, weaving through her fingers, wisping through her hair.

Scientists thought that energy was just power, just something that allowed movement and heat and light. But Mirai knew they were wrong. Energy was _alive_. It was alive in the drifting of the clouds, the rustle of tree leaves. It was alive in the soil, the magma that smoldered beneath. It was alive in the rocks, the rivers, the earthquakes and the typhoons. It was alive in the history of the universe, so ancient that its language was just whispers, fleeting thoughts, feelings, images.

And she could command it.

She stood, surveying the situation that she'd returned to. All Might, bent backwards from his slam. Noumu, upper body in a warphole that opened up beneath All Might, digging his fingers into his sides. They had him. Trapped. Ready to die.

Kurogiri glided up to him. "My task is to eviscerate you," he proclaimed. "It was Noumu's duty to restrain your dizzying speed. It is mine to close the warp gate, with you halfway in it." The warp began to close.

But. Whispers from her quirk reached her mind. _Four,_ it hissed. _Four energy signatures. Coming this way. Closing the distance quickly_.

Mirai grabbed Shigaraki and jumped back. An explosion ripped through the air, colliding with Kurogiri. "OUTTA THE FUCKING WAY, DEKU!" a voice cackled. The smoke cleared, and Mirai smiled.

"That's him," she whispered to Shigaraki. "The explosion quirk." Then, she yanked him out of the way again as a boy with red hair and a—hardening quirk?—lobbed a fist right where they'd been standing.

"Shit," the kid cursed. "I had him!"

She released Shigaraki, taking in the new development. The explosion kid, on top of Kurogiri. The redhead with hardening. Midoriya, the successor. And a child with half white, half red hair, with a trail of ice that led from his right foot to Noumu. Mirai narrowed her eyes.

 _Endeavor's son. Todoroki Shouto._

"The Symbol of Peace won't go down as easily as you scum," Todoroki said as All Might ripped himself from Noumu's grasp.

Shigaraki cocked his head to the side, silent. Then, he spoke.

"You pinned down our revolving door," he said. "Well. This is quite the pinch."

The explosion kid grinned, pushing Kurogiri's face further into the ground. "Just as I thought, this prick wasn't all that sharp! That bit on your body you use to get all misty and warp-gatey just got sealed, motherfucker!" Mirai crossed her arms, amused and without worry. "You gonna tell me that you don't use that warp to hide your true body? Huh?"

"Urgh," Kurogiri shifted, narrowing his eyes.

"Don't move," the kid warned, a manic grin lighting up his face. "The second you so much as twitch, I'll load you with a nice little explosion."

"Not a very heroic line there, buddy," the redhead muttered.

Mirai smiled.

Beside her, Shigaraki wasn't as pleased. "We've been cornered, and what's more, you're all nearly unscathed." He clasped his hands together. "Man, I have to hand it to kids these days. At this rate, the Villain Alliance will be a laughingstock." Then, his demeanor changed. "We'll have to rescue our revolving door. Noumu, come over here."

Mirai stiffened as Noumu pulled itself out of the warp, breaking its frozen limbs off. Because if Noumu was returning, that meant…

"Stand back!" All Might barked at the students. "Wasn't his quirk a Shock Absorption quirk?"

"I never said that was the full extent of his abilities, you see," Shigaraki gloated. "He also has Super Regeneration. He can withstand your one hundred percent. But enough about him. We'll need Kurogiri back."

If Noumu was returning, that meant it was her turn.

"Reaper."

Mirai shattered her invisibility and flew towards the explosion kid with a burst of light, unsheathing her scythe. She saw his eyes widen. Energy pumped through her, coating her blade.

She swung.

Her scythe hit a body. It flew backwards, hitting a nearby building. She reversed her momentum and landed in a crouch by Shigaraki, fully visible.

"All Might will do anything to protect his students," she said as the dust cleared, voice mechanical from the distorter on her mask. "Confirmed."

"Good work, Reaper," Shigaraki said. She nodded, once.

"Kacchan!" Midoriya exclaimed. "You dodged him? Her?"

"No, you fucking idiot," the explosion kid—Kacchan—grit out. The dust finally settled, revealing All Might bracing his arms against each other. He coughed.

"Do you know not mercy?"

Mirai stood up, ambling closer to him. From the corner of her eye, she saw Todoroki Shouto flinch. She glanced at him, and he froze. "Mercy," she said, laughing. She moved closer to All Might, swinging her scythe lazily. Then, she looked down and frowned. The blade was broken.

She clicked her tongue and threw it to the side. It was time that she'd gotten a new one.

"Mercy is weakness," she said, raising a hand to eye level and watching as light flickered beneath her fingers. She could almost feel Kurogiri rolling his eyes. No matter. Dramatics mattered when dealing with heroes. Mirai lifted her eyes to meet All Might's. "Do you know what I speak of, hero? Mercy is weakness, and weakness is death."

"Your name," All Might said, eyeing her. "He called you Reaper."

Mirai smiled, pleased. "You may not have heard of me, but you surely know of my work." She grinned beneath her mask. "The Takashi's. A family of four, the youngest being a mere two-year old. Tragic, how they perished from a mysterious gas leak. Coincidentally, they were also loud critics of a famous politician."

All Might stilled, face darkening with fury. "You? It was you that killed them?"

"The Hiwazaki's," she continued. "A couple in their forty's. Married two decades ago. Found with their bodies as dried husks. Did you know that the wife had been stolen away from another man? Jealousy is a strong motive."

She heard whispering behind her. "It's four versus five," Todoroki said.

"And Kacchan exposed the shadow guy's weakness," Midoriya added.

"These guys are outrageous, but if we give All Might some support, we can send them packing!"

"No!" All Might exclaimed, thrusting his arm out. "Please escape!"

"This Reaper chick," Kacchan said. "She was here the whole time, but she didn't attack. Isn't that mercy? Isn't that a _weakness_?"

"Noumu, Kurogiri," Shigaraki said. "Do your thing. Reaper and I will deal with the kids."

Mirai consented and leapt back. It was a smart decision on Shigaraki's part. She was strong. She didn't have as much brute strength as Noumu, but with her quirk, she was still strong. But she wasn't going to have any delusions. She couldn't kill All Might.

"Let's clear the game," Shigaraki began, rushing forward. "And return victorious!"

"He's coming! Brace yourselves!" the redhead shouted. Mirai caught his eye and waved.

And she disappeared.

Fear pervaded the determined expression on his face. He looked about wildly, searching for her. She tutted silently to herself. Too much fear wasn't fun. So she created another illusion. One of herself. A slip of her boots. A flutter of her hair. He turned each time, accurately pinpointing the movements of her illusion. And she stalked closer.

A burst of wind distracted her. She turned and braced herself as All Might punched Noumu.

They matched, blow for blow. Each thrown fist met an equal, each kick met a block. Fast. Quick. Unyielding. Their forms blurred, speeding up with each millisecond. Mirai lifted an arm. Protected her eyes from the dust being thrown in the air.

Until. All Might got in a hit.

He flung Noumu into the air with a kick to the jaw. "Shock absorption isn't shock nullification!" he proclaimed. "It has a limit! I'll just give it more than my hundred percent!" He crouched, gathering tension to his muscles, and _leaped._

"A hero is someone who smashes though every obstacle life puts in his way!" All Might shouted. He raised his leg and brought it down on Noumu. Noumu shot back towards the ground. "Do you know what I speak of, villain?" he said, echoing Mirai's earlier words.

She narrowed her eyes.

"PLUS ULTRA!" he roared, rearing back and punching Noumu, sending him flying. Mirai watched impassively, breaking her invisibility in preparation for the oncoming fight. She walked back to Shigaraki, watching All Might heave with exertion.

"You're not weaker," Shigaraki said, trembling with anger. "It was a lie! You dared lay a hand on my Noumu. You used cheats! There's no way you're weaker! He lied! He lied to me!" His hand shot to his neck, scratching furiously through the bandages.

"What's the matter? What happened to clearing the game?" All Might asked, standing tall. Mirai ignored him, turning her attention to Shigaraki.

"He lied, he lied, he lied," Shigaraki mumbled, increasing the frequency of his scratching. "How could he? Why did he lie?"

Mirai placed her hands on his. "Shigaraki."

The scratching stopped.

"Calm down. He didn't lie to you," she said. She let go of a hand and pushed the hair out of his eyes, making direct eye contact. "Do you hear me? He didn't lie to you. All Might is weakening. His energy levels are fading rapidly."

"If we act now, we can win," Kurogiri added. "Reinforcements are on their way, but we still have a chance with the three of us."

Shigaraki stood still, staring into Mirai's eyes. She held the gaze. "You're right," he breathed out. "We can't just leave after all this trouble. We need to take out the final boss."

Mirai allowed herself a sly smile under her mask.

"Go."

-O-O-O-O-

A/N: Hey all!

I've been hit with inspiration for this fic, so expect pretty regular updates! Until I catch up to the manga, at least.

But seriously, I haven't written a fic like this one yet. This one is going to be pretty dark in the future, more so than my _Naruto_ fic. Because in _Naruto_ , all the villains have some sort of redeeming backstory or true motive to fight for (even if it doesn't excuse their actions). But this story. It'll just be about pure evil and selfishness. The only motivation will be twisted.

So, with that said, look forward to the next few chapters. There will be good moments. Eventually. I hope.

See you next time!


	4. Chapter 3: Victory

_The Past and the Present_

By LilacLilyFlower

Disclaimer: I don't own _Boku no Hero Academia_.

-O-O-O-O-

 _Chapter 3: Victory_

-O-O-O-O-

They lost.

That child, All Might's successor, had intervened. He'd bought enough time for reinforcements to arrive and shoot at them. Mirai had brought up a shield of solid light, but not before Shigaraki had been shot in the hand and leg. Kurogiri had acted swiftly, warping them out of there and back to the bar, where they currently were, treating injuries.

"Hold still," Mirai instructed, pulling down her mask. "You need stitches. You got shot."

Shigaraki looked away. "Sensei was wrong," he said. "We lost."

A voice came from the back room, from which Kurogiri was emerging with a computer screen. He set it down on the bar counter. " _I wasn't wrong_ ," Sensei said. " _Simply overly optimistic."_

"There was a child," Mirai interjected, threading a needle. "His name is Midoriya. He had power like All Might's. Energy like his too."

Sensei was quiet. " _Oh?_ " He finally said.

"That kid," Shigaraki growled. "It's all because of that kid. If he hadn't interfered, we could have killed All Might!" His hand jerked as Mirai began to stitch up his injuries.

" _There's no use getting upset over it,_ " Sensei berated. " _Today wasn't in vain. Gather a new group and take all the time you need. We can't move freely. That's why we need a symbol like you! Next time, show the world the true horror of your existence!_ " The screen went dark.

"I'm leaving," Kurogiri announced after a brief silence. "I need to go home and rest."

Mirai tied off the string and looked up. She pointed at the chair next to her. "Sit," she ordered. "First aid, then home."

"I have no injuries," he argued. "Just bruises."

She frowned. Rifling through the first aid kit, she pulled out a cream. "Take this. Spread it on the bruises two times a day." He nodded and left.

Mirai worked in silence on Shigaraki's injuries. The seconds ticked by into minutes without a single spoken word. She looked up at him from time to time, but he never met her eyes, staring off to the side or at the ground.

Finally, she tied a knot on the last stitch and put a bandage on it. "Don't let your stitches get wet," she instructed. "And change your bandages every day, like you've been doing for your neck." Then, she took a step back and appraised his appearance. "And you should probably change into your civilian clothes. See you tomorrow, Shigaraki."

"Wait," he said, speaking up for the first time in about an hour. "Talk. We need to talk."

She checked the time. "I need to be getting home," she said. "For my cover."

"Then we'll talk at your place. Wait." He left for the back room. Mirai mused over her choices, then opted to wait. After all, she could turn this into her favor.

As she waited, she took out the hair tie and changed behind the bar counter. By the time Shigaraki came back in civilian garb, she was in _her_ civilian clothes.

They walked out in silence. She glanced over at him. He had his hood up, and his hair was covering his face. _How_ , she wondered, _am I supposed to twist this to my advantage?_

She had to take charge of the conversation, whenever it happened. Because it was vital that she succeeded, since it was too late to go back.

Mirai opened the door to her apartment, entering first. She turned on the lights and headed into the kitchen.

Silence.

"You can sit down," she said, heating some water. "But if you want to talk, my bedroom has the most anti-quirk devices and security. Down the hall, on the right." A few moments later, she heard a door open and close.

As she waited for the tea to steep, Mirai scrambled for any form of a plan. Shigaraki wanted to talk. Okay. He was likely wary, if not suspicious. That was to be expected. She had to sell it. Really sell it. Convince him her interest was genuine. But how?

She regretted not having read romance or fiction novels. They would have helped.

Then, she thought of what she was missing. What he was missing. Gentleness. Acceptance. Physical affection. And she knew.

She carried two cups of tea to her bedroom (did he even like tea? She knew nothing about him. This was risky. But she'd known that when she'd started the plan, hadn't she?). She blinked as the door swung open. Shigaraki stared at her for a moment, then retreated to her desk chair.

She set one of the cups down on the desk and sat on her bed. "So," she said. "You wanted to talk. About what?"

He looked down at the cup of tea, hands in his jacket pocket. "You have an interest in me," he stated.

She took a sip of tea. "I do."

"A… romantic one."

"Yes."

Again, silence. She set her cup down on the footboard of her bed. "Is that all—"

"Over Kurogiri. You prefer me over Kurogiri."

Mirai tilted her head. _He really is a bit childlike_ , she thought. "Yes," she confirmed again.

"You're not horrified? Of me?"

The question brought her pause. He stood up, pulling back his hood. "You're not horrified of this?"

She looked up and saw his face for the first time.

Scars. The first thought in her mind was _scars_. Around his eyes, on his forehead, there were scars that toughened the skin into wrinkles and puckers.

She met his eyes evenly. In them, she saw uncertainty and defensiveness. A rush of exhilaration washed over her, because _she'd_ caused that. _She_ affected him. She stood up to match him. "No. I'm not horrified. I could never be horrified of you."

Because it was true. She felt nothing towards him, only absolute apathy. He was a means to an end, a way to secure her safety in the future. (If she played her cards right.)

"Or my quirk?"

Mirai stepped closer. Within touching distance. _The physical touch_ , she thought, recalling a scientific thesis she'd once read, _is powerful_. "How could I possibly be horrified of your quirk?" she asked, drawing nearer. "I've done worse things with mine than you ever have."

Carefully, delicately, she reached up and cupped his face, brushing her thumb over the scarring under his eyes. He stiffened. "With these hands, I've murdered hundreds of innocent people. With my quirk, I've dealt in the underground mechanisms of our society. So no," she whispered. "I'm not horrified."

"Why," he asked, "why me?"

She considered how to answer the question. The truth, of course, was unacceptable to say. "I'm not sure," she settled on. "There's no one reason, I suppose. I guess one thing I was drawn to was your—loneliness."

"My loneliness," he repeated.

"Yes," she said. "Because I'm lonely too."

Because she was. The League of Villains were acquaintances. Kurogiri could barely be called a friend. She had no confidant, no security. Only herself. She didn't mind it much, because she only trusted herself.

But maybe it was this fact that led her to her next action, this epiphany of a similarity between them.

She pressed her lips against his.

A moment later, she pulled back. It hadn't been anything amazing. In all honesty, it meant about as much as accidentally bumping arms. But she knew people kissed those they deemed important to them—those that they loved—and more importantly, she knew that _Shigaraki_ knew, and that was all that mattered.

Mirai moved back, dropping her hands from his face. But he grabbed them, keeping them at shoulder level.

"I could easily hurt you," he said, echoing an earlier conversation of theirs.

"I could easily hurt you too," she replied.

His eyes widened.

"Mine," he said, voice raw with realization. "You're _mine_."

She dropped her head onto his shoulder. "I am," she said. She allowed herself to feel a surge of triumph as the last chess pieces fell into place.

Checkmate.

-O-O-O-O-

He never did drink the tea she'd given him.

Kurogiri said nothing as Mirai and Shigaraki entered the hideout together the next day. They'd never entered together before. "We're on the news," he said instead, gesturing towards the television.

On the screen, an aerial view panned over the USJ, which was smoking. _"…group of villains infiltrated. However, no information has been found on the three individuals thought to be the leaders, except for their aliases…_ "

"I'm going to talk with Sensei," Shigaraki said, abruptly heading for the back room.

Mirai sighed as she sank into a chair. She was tired beyond relief. "Kurogiri, can I have. Water. Please."

He rolled his eyes, as usual, but handed her a glass. Then, he paused.

"Who did this to you?" he demanded, moving her shirt off of her shoulder. "Did you get in a fight? After yesterday? You were supposed to be lying low."

She scrunched up her brow, confused, then realized what he was looking at. "Oh, that. Shigaraki gave it to me."

Kurogiri slowly lowered his hand down on the bar. "He did what?" he asked, anger in his voice. "I can't believe he hit you. I can't believe you didn't dodge."

Mirai blinked. "Oh. It's, um. Not a bruise."

He stared at her. She stared back. And took a sip of water.

His hand came up to massage where she supposed his forehead was. "I do not want to know anymore," he said through gritted teeth. Then, he sighed. "You're being careful, right? Not just with, with _that_ ," he said, eyeing the hickey on her shoulder distastefully, "but him in general."

"I'm fine," she said, waving him off. Then, she narrowed her eyes at him. "You're awfully not collected today. Did something throw you off of your game, so to speak?"

"I learned something that I didn't want to in the past five minutes," he responded tersely. "Besides, it's not just me. Your behavior is strange as well. 'Off of your game', honestly? You don't use phrases like that frequently."

She shrugged. "I'm tired."

He made his next fatal mistake. "From doing what?" Then, he stopped, and from the way his mist condensed around his head, Mirai could tell that he just realized what he fell for.

In response, she grinned wickedly at him. "You mean, doing _whom_."

He promptly turned around and walked to the end of the bar furthest from her. She quirked an amused smile—because, really, she'd just been kidding (so far)—and turned her attention back to the television.

" _It was frightening, yes,_ " the girl on screen said. Underneath her, the caption read "U.A. Student, Class 1-A, Yaoyorozu Momo". " _But as a class, we remained calm and reacted the way we'd been taught, so I think it was due to the school's teachings that we all got out relatively unharmed._ "

Mirai jolted upright. Yaoyorozu. Where had she heard that name before? She scoured her mind for the word, which struck some kind of chord in her.

"Yaoyorozu Momo," Kurogiri said, looking over her shoulder. Apparently, he was done rinsing his mind with bleach. "She has the quirk of Creation. She got in on a recommendation, like Endeavor's son."

"Oh," Mirai realized. "Yaoyorozu is that rich family, right? No wonder she got a recommendation." She mused. _Creation quirk. Sounds incredibly useful._ "I doubt she'd be easy to tempt over."

"Tempt who over?"

Shigaraki entered the front room, closing the door to the back. He sat down next to Mirai.

"Yaoyorozu Momo," Kurogiri replied. "She came on the news, so we considered her."

Shigaraki stilled, then cocked his head. "The only one we could possibly win over is Bakugou Katsuki, the Explosion quirk."

 _Oh. So that was his name._

"The U.A. Sports Festival is coming up soon," Mirai said. "We could decide after watching that if we want to take him. Trying to kill All Might directly didn't work out, so we should try something else. Such as a hostage situation."

"When's the festival?"

"In two weeks," Kurogiri said. "We have time to plan and gather more forces."

"And replenish supplies," she muttered. "I need a new scythe."

"Just make one out of energy," Shigaraki suggested. "Unless you don't think you can do it."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "Not in time for the festival," she said. Condensing energy into a solid form required high levels of energy, control, and stamina. It wasn't something she could do at the moment, unlike a shield. A shield was flat. A scythe was not.

"If that's all for today, I'm going to the book store," she said, rising up. "Come find me if you need to contact me." She left before Shigaraki had time to even get up. Then, she thought better of her actions and popped her head back in. "I'll see you later tonight," she told him. Then, she left for certain.

As she browsed the shelves of the local bookstore, she felt the sensation that she'd felt at the library. The sensation of being watched.

Except this time, she clearly sensed and saw the person who was watching her. It was a girl, who looked to be a high schooler. Strange green markings on her body. Pink hair. Green eyes.

Mirai scoffed to herself. _Classic spring child._ She moved to the next aisle and felt her irritation increase as the girl followed her. She glanced at her, but the girl only smiled and turned to look at the books.

She moved to the next aisle. And the next. And the one after. Each time, the girl followed her, increasingly setting Mirai on edge, because what did she want? Why didn't she say anything?

Until she did. "Hi, I'm Ruri," the girl chirped.

Mirai spared her an annoyed glance. "Uzusara Mina," she snapped. "Do you need anything? Or is there any other reason why you're hovering?"

Ruri shrugged. "You looked lonely."

Mirai eyed her. "You go to U.A., don't you?"

Ruri blinked at her. "Yeah, I'm a third-year, Heroics Department. Why?"

Her ire spiked. People were false. Heroes were falser. Saying she followed her around because she looked _lonely_ was laughable.

"Oh, nothing," Mirai said. "But I'll say this. You have the most obnoxious hair color ever." She watched as the smile dropped from Ruri's face, anger flashing in her eyes.

"It's better than yours!" she shot back.

 _Oho,_ Mirai thought, raising an eyebrow. She shrugged. "I don't particularly care about my hair color," she replied. "But it seems like you do. Is it fake?"

"It's real! Realer than you, you faker," Ruri hissed. She swiped a hand in front of her, and a wall of _something_ flew at Mirai's head, humming at a low frequency. She ducked.

It rippled in the air and crashed into the bookcase behind her, toppling it. Mirai paid no mind, because she'd just been _attacked_.

"Like it? My quirk is Sound Manipulation," Ruri said. "That was my lowest hertz level. Let's see you dodge this!" She flung another sound wall at Mirai.

Sound was fast. Light was faster.

Mirai held up her hand, grabbing onto the energy in the sound wave and _twisting_. The attack dissipated, leaving Ruri staring with her mouth open.

"Like it?" Mirai mocked. "My quirk is Invisible Force."

"That's… no one's ever been able to do that before," Ruri mumbled.

Mirai blinked. "There's a first time for everything. Bye." She swept by, casually sidestepping the store manager, who headed right toward Ruri.

"Ah, Mina, wait!"

Mirai left.

-O-O-O-O-

She sat in a café, reading a book she'd stolen. It was a romance novel.

Mirai could feel her eyebrows rising higher and higher as she read on. The novel was… unexpected. Did people actually behave the way the characters were written?

When she reached the part in which the protagonist, a shy, fluttering thing of a girl, misunderstood what her love interest had said, Mirai clapped the book shut with disgust and reached for her coffee.

 _I'll improvise with Shigaraki_ , she decided. She sighed, aimlessly watching the people who passed by her seat. They laughed, chattering about trivial topics or gossiping conspiracies about U.A. She tried to guess what quirk they had.

Some were easy to tell, such as the mutants. Others, such as the subtle quirks that helped with day-to-day life, weren't as easy to see. It was a pointless activity. But she was on a break of sorts, she supposed. Breaks were meant for relaxation and pointless things.

"Found you."

Shigaraki sat down across from her. Her eyes flickered to his, but she offered no other action or greeting.

"I went to the book store," he said. "You weren't there. Only a girl with pink hair putting books on shelves."

Mirai shrugged a shoulder. "She knocked a shelf over when I was there, I think."

They lapsed into silence. Mirai wasn't worried about their lack of conversation. They weren't the type to make small talk.

"Sensei has an idea for your quirk," he said after some time. Her interest piqued, and she leaned forward. "You can control energy, and therefore light. What about heat? And since you can move the molecules themselves, you could freeze someone by removing heat or stilling the molecules."

"Zero Kelvin," Mirai mused. "The lack of movement."

"He thought it was time for you to go to the next level in your training." The petulant note in his voice wasn't missed by her.

"And you?" she prodded. It was a touchy subject, she knew.

"I'm done," he said. "In regards to my quirk, I'm finished with the training."

She kept her surprise from showing. "I see," she said, not pressing the matter more. She shifted her attention to the window again, absentmindedly scanning those who passed by. What seemed to surprise others was his ability to carry normal conversations, she mused. The lackeys always treated Shigaraki like Russian roulette. Unstable, unpredictable, deadly.

But maybe it was all an act.

Her eyes landed on a family of blondes waiting to cross the street. Something about them made her sit up. Something about the tallest male. The line of his back was so achingly familiar, but she couldn't place _where_ she'd seen it before.

Then he turned, and Mirai stopped breathing.

Because it couldn't be. He was supposed to be dead. Killed by the factory owner.

Ruuto.

But the evidence was right in front of her. The blond hair. The green eyes—the _eyes_ , she'd never forget his eyes, she'd never forget the way they grew wistful that one night he'd told her about the outside world. He'd be twenty-four. And beyond all reason, beyond what she'd thought had been fact, she could see how the gangly, awkward boy in her mind's eye would have grown into the tall, broad man she saw, laughing with his—

Family. He found his family.

"Mirai."

Shigaraki's voice tore her stare away from the windows. "Yes?"

He rose up. "We're going."

Her eyes shot back to the window.

Ruuto was gone.

She followed Shigaraki out of the café, desperately reaching out to sense even a sliver of Ruuto's energy. Because Ruuto was, he was…

The sun.

He'd given her a name. He'd given her the Outside. He'd given her a chance to actually _live_. She owed her life to him. Her knowledge. Her growth as a person.

But a seed of doubt sprouted in her mind. She was a villain. If she tried to reconnect with him, she would have to lie. Which, in and of itself, wasn't much of a problem. But it was the premise of the thing. Lying. To him.

She didn't even know if it was really him.

"Isn't today a rest day?" she asked Shigaraki. "You should be resting."

"I am," he replied, glancing at her. They crossed the street. "That's why I'm with you."

Oh. Well, then.

Banishing all thoughts of Ruuto from her mind for the moment, Mirai reached over and grasped Shigaraki's hand, staring straight ahead. "I'm not a relaxing person," she said. A moment later, she felt his hand tighten. She smiled to herself. _Better and better._

"You are," he stated. "Being around you is…calming. Even before this happened." He gestured to their joined hands. "You're reliable as an ally."

She paused in her walking, pulling both of them into a stop. "Shigaraki," she asked, amused. "Are you _flirting_ with me?"

"No," he said, frowning. "I'm just stating things as they are."

"So I'm calming," she said, stepping closer. "Even when I do this?" She trailed her hand up his arm. "Or this?" She tilted his face down towards hers. "What about…this?" she whispered, so close that she brushed his lips with hers as she spoke. Sensing his sudden lack of movement, she backed off. It wouldn't do to overwhelm him with advances.

"Mirai," Shigaraki said, voice hoarse. "You can't do that. You can't just stop." He tagged after her, like a _puppy_. She'd never thought she'd liken him to a puppy, ever.

"We're in public," she reminded him. "Doing such things would attract unnecessary attention."

"Then let's go to your apartment."

She blinked lazily at him. "Isn't that where we were going anyways?"

He stared at her for a moment, then reached over and grabbed her hand, tugging insistently and pulling her along. A crooked smile came to her lips, unbidden, because strangely, his actions at the moment were endearing.

 _Seriously, what a puppy_.

"You're cute," she told him.

"I am not _cute_ ," he retorted. "That implies I'm weak."

She eyed him. Everyone had their weaknesses. In fact, she was exploiting one of his right now.

"You can be cute and strong," she said. "Like those RPG games."

"Those are games," he said.

"But life is a game," she replied. "Isn't it? You told me years ago that life was a game, and that it would be game over for the heroes."

There was a lull in the conversation, during which he kept pulling her in the direction of her apartment. "You're not wrong," he finally said, waiting as she punched in the code to enter her building. "But I'm not cute."

"Alright," she acquiesced. They entered the elevator. "I'll be the cute one."

"You're not cute either," he said as they travelled up. She quirked an eyebrow at him, dropping his hand.

"Thanks," she said, getting out on her floor.

"You didn't let me finish," he said as she unlocked her door. "You're not cute." They entered the apartment, taking their shoes off. She immediately headed into the kitchen, setting some water on the stove for her daily tea.

"What am I, then?" she asked, turning around to face him. If all went right, he'd be the one making advances soon.

He reached around her and turned the stove off. "You're not cute," he repeated. "But you're captivating." He closed the distance between them.

Tea was forgotten.

-O-O-O-O-

"You two," Kurogiri said, "are sickening."

"We're not doing anything," Mirai replied. "He's not even here right now."

They were back at the bar, but it was just the two of them. Kurogiri, as usual, was behind the bar, reading a book. Mirai was seated with pen and paper, brainstorming the finer details of their plan. Because while she knew Sensei's plan, there were steps required to reach the details of _his_ plan. Steps that he hadn't told her.

"I know that you're not with him purely out of romantic interest."

Silence. She set her pen down, levelling a gaze at him.

"What are you implying?"

"I don't know why you're doing it," he said, meeting her eyes. "But you need to be careful. This is a dangerous game that you're playing, Mirai."

"It's worth it," she said. His eyes flickered, and she knew that he remembered the conversation they'd had on the rooftop. "We're going to win this battle between heroes and villains. I'm securing my spot for the future."

"So it's out of self-interest."

"Yes."

After a long pause, he sighed. "Take care around Shigaraki. I wouldn't put it past him to hurt you."

"If he tries anything, I can easily subdue him," she said, picking her pen up again. She twirled it. "After all, my combat skills are superior."

-O-O-O-O-

A/N: Oh, Mirai, my sweet, there are more ways to hurt someone than by physical means.

Anyways, hooray for another update? It was a struggle to get this chapter out, in all honesty. I introduced (or re-introduced) characters too quickly. It's. I don't know. Not smooth?

Whatever, I'm still proud. Good job, me.

And the latest update to the manga! **SPOILER ALERT.**

I can't believe they almost got expelled, oh my god, I mean, I totally understand where Aizawa is coming from, but holy shit, that would have been a completely different story if they had. Like, would they go to another school? Would they turn to the villains? AHHH.

 **END SPOILER.**

Let me know what you guys thought of this chapter! Is there anything else in particular that you guys would want to see in future updates? Any complaints?


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